{"id":2246,"date":"2026-07-31T19:10:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T19:10:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=2246"},"modified":"2026-07-31T19:10:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T19:10:23","slug":"us-to-make-visa-bond-requirements-permanent-affecting-mostly-african-countries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=2246","title":{"rendered":"US to make visa bond requirements permanent, affecting mostly African countries"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The State Department is making permanent a pilot program under which citizens from 50 countries, mainly in Africa<\/span>, are required to post bonds to apply for a U.S. visa, and it\u2019s raising the cost as well, to as much as $20,000.<\/p>\n

Read more FACT FOCUS: Migrant crossing in Spain\u2019s Ceuta breeds unsubstantiated claims<\/a><\/p>\n

A draft notice published Friday in the Federal Register says a nearly year-long review \u201cprovided sufficient data\u201d to suggest the bond program effectively enforces compliance with visa conditions, and would be made permanent. <\/p>\n

The notice is to be formally released on Monday, the day the program becomes permanent, and additional countries may be added to the list, which can be found here<\/span>. The pilot program set the maximum bond amount at $15,000, with lower amounts of $5,000 and $10,000 based on a consular officer\u2019s discretion. The final regulation raises the maximum to $20,000 and removes the $5,000 low-end payment. <\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The program requires holders of passports from the affected countries to pay the bond to be interviewed for business and tourist visas \u2014 known as B1 and B2 visas \u2014 to travel to the United States. The bond is refunded if the visa application is denied or, if granted, if the person adheres to the visa terms.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration rolled out the program last August to crack down on visa overstays and as part of its broader efforts to curtail illegal migration<\/span>. The government estimates that arresting and deporting visitors who have overstayed their visa costs about $18,000 per person.<\/p>\n

State Department officials have hailed the program as a great success. In 2024, nearly 45,500 visitors from the 50 countries in the program overstayed their visas, according to the notice. In the first 10 months of the pilot visa bond program, the number of overstays from those countries was fewer than 50, it said. <\/p>\n

Read more Hamas says a deal has been reached in Gaza, and other developments in the Middle East<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Critics have said it imposes an unnecessarily harsh burden on people from impoverished countries to visit family members or to pursue education or business opportunities in the U.S.<\/p>\n

According to government projections and statistics from the first year of the program, the State Department initially expected that about 2,000 visa applicants would be required to post the bond. Instead, the department found that roughly 20,000 applicants were covered by the bond requirement.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Nearly half of those applicants chose not to pay the bond and there was an 83% decline in the number of business and tourist visas issued to citizens of countries on the list. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe department expects that this final rule will contribute to the continued reduction of demand for B1\/B2 visa applications from nationals of countries subject to the program,\u201d the notice said.<\/p>\n

Read more Hamas reached an agreement to disarm, officials say. It\u2019s a significant move but faces challenges<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The State Department is making permanent a pilot program under which citizens from 50 countries, mainly in Africa, are required to post bonds to apply for a U.S. visa, and it\u2019s raising the cost as well, to as much as $20,000. A draft notice published Friday in the Federal Register says the program effectively enforces compliance with visa conditions and will be made permanent. The program requires passport holders from affected countries to pay a bond when being interviewed for business and tourist visas. The bond is refunded if the application is denied or when the person leaves the United States under the terms of his or her visa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2245,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nUS to make visa bond requirements permanent, affecting mostly African countries - Top Moving Pros<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=2246\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US to make visa bond requirements permanent, affecting mostly African countries - Top Moving Pros\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The State Department is making permanent a pilot program under which citizens from 50 countries, mainly in Africa, are required to post bonds to apply for a U.S. visa, and it\u2019s raising the cost as well, to as much as $20,000. A draft notice published Friday in the Federal Register says the program effectively enforces compliance with visa conditions and will be made permanent. The program requires passport holders from affected countries to pay a bond when being interviewed for business and tourist visas. The bond is refunded if the application is denied or when the person leaves the United States under the terms of his or her visa.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=2246\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Top Moving Pros\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-31T19:10:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/topmovingpross.com\\\/?p=2246#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/topmovingpross.com\\\/?p=2246\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/topmovingpross.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d120f8ae15027244cf4e8ea553e290f8\"},\"headline\":\"US to make visa bond requirements permanent, affecting mostly African countries\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-31T19:10:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/topmovingpross.com\\\/?p=2246\"},\"wordCount\":479,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/topmovingpross.com\\\/?p=2246#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/topmovingpross.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/01429abb4829457d1023705128439510-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/topmovingpross.com\\\/?p=2246#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/topmovingpross.com\\\/?p=2246\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/topmovingpross.com\\\/?p=2246\",\"name\":\"US to make visa bond requirements permanent, affecting mostly African countries - Top Moving Pros\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/topmovingpross.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/topmovingpross.com\\\/?p=2246#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/topmovingpross.com\\\/?p=2246#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/topmovingpross.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/01429abb4829457d1023705128439510-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-31T19:10:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/topmovingpross.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d120f8ae15027244cf4e8ea553e290f8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/topmovingpross.com\\\/?p=2246#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/topmovingpross.com\\\/?p=2246\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/topmovingpross.com\\\/?p=2246#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/topmovingpross.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/01429abb4829457d1023705128439510-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/topmovingpross.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/01429abb4829457d1023705128439510-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"FILE - The State Department seal is seen on the briefing room lectern at the State Department in Washington, Jan. 31, 2022. (Mandel Ngan, Pool via AP, File)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/topmovingpross.com\\\/?p=2246#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/topmovingpross.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"US to make visa bond requirements permanent, affecting mostly African countries\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/topmovingpross.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/topmovingpross.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Top Moving Pros\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/topmovingpross.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/topmovingpross.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d120f8ae15027244cf4e8ea553e290f8\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/topmovingpross.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/topmovingpross.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"US to make visa bond requirements permanent, affecting mostly African countries - Top Moving Pros","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=2246","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"US to make visa bond requirements permanent, affecting mostly African countries - Top Moving Pros","og_description":"The State Department is making permanent a pilot program under which citizens from 50 countries, mainly in Africa, are required to post bonds to apply for a U.S. visa, and it\u2019s raising the cost as well, to as much as $20,000. A draft notice published Friday in the Federal Register says the program effectively enforces compliance with visa conditions and will be made permanent. The program requires passport holders from affected countries to pay a bond when being interviewed for business and tourist visas. The bond is refunded if the application is denied or when the person leaves the United States under the terms of his or her visa.","og_url":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=2246","og_site_name":"Top Moving Pros","article_published_time":"2026-07-31T19:10:23+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=2246#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=2246"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d120f8ae15027244cf4e8ea553e290f8"},"headline":"US to make visa bond requirements permanent, affecting mostly African countries","datePublished":"2026-07-31T19:10:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=2246"},"wordCount":479,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=2246#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01429abb4829457d1023705128439510-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=2246#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=2246","url":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=2246","name":"US to make visa bond requirements permanent, affecting mostly African countries - Top Moving Pros","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=2246#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=2246#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01429abb4829457d1023705128439510-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-31T19:10:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d120f8ae15027244cf4e8ea553e290f8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=2246#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=2246"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=2246#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01429abb4829457d1023705128439510-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01429abb4829457d1023705128439510-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707,"caption":"FILE - The State Department seal is seen on the briefing room lectern at the State Department in Washington, Jan. 31, 2022. (Mandel Ngan, Pool via AP, File)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=2246#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"US to make visa bond requirements permanent, affecting mostly African countries"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/","name":"Top Moving Pros","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d120f8ae15027244cf4e8ea553e290f8","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/topmovingpross.com"],"url":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2246"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2246\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}